Think India Foundation

What happens to the millions of gadgets we discard?

Miraj Malik deals with the after life. His days begin with a casual stroll around the dusty lanes of Seelampur - a Delhi suburb - inspecting the latest cold cargo that's been picked up from across the National Capital Region (NCR) and unloaded by hundreds of trucks the previous night. 

Malik dabbles in cadavers of computers and sundry gizmos. He runs 18 shops in Seelampur - one of India's biggest "organised" unorganised market for scrapped electronic devices - where they are dismantled, glass and plastic parts are sifted out from metals, which, in turn, are separated to be sold to metal hubs like Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

It’s not rocket science

In a slum along the Mysore Road in Bangalore, the headquarters for the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, dozens of dish antennae jut out from crowded rooftops. They pick up signals directly from one of several home-grown satellites, making 24/7 television possible and spurring direct-to-home services.

“The cable guys stopped servicing our area because nobody would pay,” says S Sudhir, a resident who maintains a public toilet in Bangalore. “Now we can buy recharge TV coupons for even a day’s viewing. This is easy on the pocket.” Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Probe ordered into ‘Island Festival' in Udupi

BANGALORE : Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda criticised for defending it

The State Government, which has come under criticism for holding an “Island Festival” on St. Mary's Island off Uudpi, on Tuesday ordered a probe into the festival which was organised by the district administration.

The Opposition Congress alleged that the district administration violated rules and allowed the use of drugs, consumption of alcohol, and other obscenities by foreigners. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

India needs institutional arrangements to rule out conflict of interest among those holding public office

It's the oldest rule in the book: if you hold public office, avoid conflict of interest. Like most rules, this too is observed mostly in the breach. As many as 50 Rajya Sabha MPs are paid consultants. 

Another 28 MPs receive regular salaries from their professional assignments outside parliament. A further 28 MPs hold remunerative directorships and 33 MPs control shareholding in private companies. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) received this information after a long, tortuous process through RTI. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Right to drinking water covered by Constitution: Activists in HC

Mumbai : Contending that the right to drinking water is covered by the constitutional right to life, Pani Haq Samiti, on behalf of slum-dwellers from various parts of the city, has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) move to stop their water supply.

According to the petition, a circular was issued by the Department of Urban Development stopping supply of drinking water to people residing in slum areas that came into existence after 1995. In August 2002, the BMC’s water charge rules came into force denying water to these slums, they contended. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Did builder in Punjab sell you plot he doesn't own?

Chandigarh : Here's a scam warning for those who have recently bought plots and apartments from private property developers.

The dream home you own, or the plot on which you aim to build it, may have been sold to you by people who do not even own it. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Political din may drown citizens' voice for silence zones in Pune

PUNE: Political parties have one cause in common__ their opposition to silence zones while campaigning. Amid the heat over election, the state government has decided to take up the issue with the pollution control board and to the court if necessary.

However, common citizens want to protect silence zones to save them from blaring horns, ear-splitting music, loud public announcements and noisy scenes during elections. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Satellite images to decide future of unauthorised colonies

New Delhi : Facing flak for giving provisional certificates to unauthorised colonies in violation of norms, the Delhi government has decided to rely on satellite images provided by the Survey of India to ascertain if the areas meet the eligibility criteria for regularisation. After receiving the images, the government will decide the boundaries of the colonies. 

Senior urban development department officials said the aerial images clicked in 2002 were hazy and of no use to determine if the properties — whose owners had sought amnesty under the regularisation scheme — actually existed on land. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

SC notice to Centre on decongestion of roads

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over growing vehicular traffic and issued notice to the Centre on framing guidelines for decongestion of roads. 

An apex court bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari gave two weeks time to the Centre for its response to a PIL alleging traffic jam across the country, particularly in metros, was leading to serious health problems. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

'Lack of regulation hurting biotech sector'

Chennai/ Bangalore : Lack of proper regulatory framework, among other hurdles, the biotechnology (BT) industry is having to surmount, is affecting the sector and its growth. The government will have to move fast and speed up growth of the Indian BT sector as it has the potential to emerge as a leading sector, said Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day Bangalore India-Bio 2012, inaugurated in Bangalore on Monday, she said, “Only a proper regulatory framework would help realise these expectations. The regulatory system was necessary to provide support for innovation.” Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Schools to be inspected for RTE compliance in Panchkula

PANCHKULA: Schools will soon be inspected to verify compliance of parameters provided under the Right to Education, said Jagat Singh, representative of the education department, to the court on Saturday.

The officer said a meeting was held with all the school heads on February 1, 2012, regarding the inspection of schools under Rule 15(3) of the RTE Act. The principals have been asked to inform the district education officer (DEO) after fixing a date with the concerned sarpanch or the ward municipal councillor for inspection of the respective school. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Equipment sourcing rule likely for IT, telecom

New Delhi : In an initiative that could prompt foreign telecom equipment majors such as Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson to set up base in India, the government is working on a Cabinet note to make it mandatory for all information technology (IT) and telecom public sector units to source 30 per cent of their purchases from domestic equipment makers.

Work on the note has started following a proposal by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the IT department. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

2G verdict: Affected subscribers to turn to number portability, new SIM cards

PUNE: Rajat Upadhyay uses the mobile phone connection of a service provider that is at the receiving end of the Supreme Court's order of Thursday to cancel 2G licenses issued by the government after January 2008. However, he is not worried about the possibility of his connection going dead once the SC order is implemented. He says he will shift to some other operator and continue to use his connection.

Ankit Kulkarni is similarly not too bothered. He took a connection only last month and cannot change his operator for another 70 days or so, given the portability norms of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). But he plans to buy a new SIM card and remain mobile. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

‘Marshes aren’t wastelands, don’t dump toxic waste there’

Mumbai : Girish Chandwadkar, 32, a Thane resident is passionate about bird photography and visits mangroves in and around Mumbai during holidays.

But lately, Chandwadkar feels that infrastructure projects have rapidly encroached on mangroves around the city. “Today, we are surrounded by an absolute concrete jungle from all sides. Eco-systems like wetlands and mangroves will be remembered only through pictures and videos,” said Chandwadkar, consultant, communication design, Tata Interactive Services. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com 

‘New DCR rules favour projects in island city’

Mumbai : Developers with projects in the suburbs have lashed out against the state government’s new building rules, which they allege discriminates against redevelopment projects in the suburbs at the cost of favouring those in the island city.

On January 3, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan announced the amendment to the Development Control Rules (DCR) wherein areas such as individual terraces, balconies and ornamental projections could be granted in the form of 35 per cent chargeable FSI. While it was initially proposed that there has to be a compulsory side open space of 6 m for all projects, the final rules reduced it to only 1.5 m in case of cessed building redevelopment and slum rehabilitation projects on smaller plots. This concession was not extended to redevelopment projects in the suburbs. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Heritage Committee report puts UT in a fix over approving building plans in Chandigarh

Chandigarh : For the past six months, building plans of several houses in city’s upscale sectors are on hold for the want of approval from the UT Administration’s department of Urban Planning. In fact, the Upper Committee of the Plan Approval Committee of the Administration which approves building plans of the houses above two kanal, has not sanctioned even a single building plan starting from July 2011.

While the officials of the UT Administration say that the delay is due to the fact that the Heritage Committee has recently in its report recommended not to disturb the layout plan of the city and the given FAR (Floor Area Ratio) was set to disturb the same. This was holding up all building plans. On the contrary, the applicants who have been waiting for an approval of the building plan say that since the recommendations had only come in December, why did the authorities did not approve these earlier. The UT Estate office’s building byelaws clearly mention that any building plan has to be approved within a period of 60 days or else it is deemed to be approved. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

New land conversion law in Rajasthan to be transparent, IT savvy

Jaipur : The state cabinet on Wednesday repealed the disputed Section 90B of Land Revenue Act, 1956 and gave the nod for creating a new set of sections under 90A. This is likely to put to rest the controversy over 90B.

"The cabinet has authorized the enabling power authority to make the set of rules for Section 90A. Now the urban development authority department (UDH) can create provisions which will replace Section 90B and allow the swift land conversion laws," said PK Deb, additional chief secretary, UDH. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India lays down e-waste management rules

While the recent amendments touch on issues such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), they seem to have overlooked take back targets and a ban on illegal imports.

Increasing incidents of malpractice involving electronic dumping in the absence of regulation have triggered the need for e-waste rules, which first saw an initial draft in 2010. After much deliberation and some further amendments, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has come out with some new proposals that will go into effect in May 2012. For the first time, the MoEF has put the onus of recycling e-waste squarely on the producers—a step in the right direction. While e-waste was earlier broadly clubbed under hazardous substances, the Indian government has understood the gravity of the situation. Read more

Source : expresscomputeronline.com

Kamuni Cheruvu lake is a free for all dumping zone

“We used to consume water directly from this lake about 10 years ago. In fact, whenever people ran out of water, they used to fill a bucket from the lake and use it. Now the lake is so polluted that the water can’t be used for anything,” said Sideshwar Goud, member, Save Our Urban Lake (SOUL) who was born in the area and continues to live here. The NGO has been crying hoarse about the deteriorating condition of Kamuni Cheruvu, a lake near the Shamshabad Airport.

Kamuni Cheruvu is a 25 acre lake, that until 10 years ago, was the pride of the residents who used this lake extensively. The lake is now polluted, and what’s worse is that it has been encroached even by the Andhra Pradesh Cental Power Distri­bution Company Limited (APCPDCL) sub-station. Read more

Source : postnoon.com

Maharashtra govt issues notification for affordable homes in state

The state government has issued a notification making it mandatory for all projects on more than 2,000 sq m land to reserve 20 per cent of the plot or constructed space for smaller sized affordable housing.

The rule would be applicable to the 26 municipal corporations and all municipal councils in Maharashtra. The notification issued by the state urban development department is meant to promote the concept of inclusive housing at a time when most developers, especially in Mumbai, are in the business of creating luxury housing. In a bid to prevent any misuse of the policy, the notification states that developers will not be allowed to amalgamate the smaller flats or land under any circumstances. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

New DC rule may deliver only eyesores

Mumbai : Developers can now freely convert the spaces allotted for flower beds, balconies and voids into living areas but will have to pay a premium to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).Besides bringing in transparency in the use of floor space index (FSI), the modified Development Control (DC) rule will regularise illegal alterations.

An FSI is the amount of construction allowed on a particular plot. Higher the FSI, more the number of floors that can be added. "It will surely stop illegal additions and alterations done by bribing local civic engineers and elected representatives. Now, a developer or a buyer has to pay a premium to the civic body to use flower beds and balconies as living areas. As a result, no developer will propose the ornamental and elevation features in the plan," said a BMC architect. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Mobile users find SMSes turn big irritant

About 850 million mobile customers thought September 27, 2011 would be their D-day to get rid of pesky SMSes. For, that was the day when the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) finally came out with its revised set of rules barring unsolicited calls and SMSes. But even after four months, there seems to be little let-up from nuisance calls and messages for most mobile users in the country.

Illustration: P.K. Job.

As per TRAI data, an urban mobile user receives approximately four marketing or promotional messages in a day on his device. And to curb these, the regulatory body came up with its exercise of do not disturb (DND) registry, later renamed as national customer preference register (NCPR), where a customer can register to avoid being harassed by telemarketers. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Maharashtra govt mulls on new hospital rules

MUMBAI: The state government is mulling an option to amend the rules so that new hospitals coming up in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra cannot have operating theatres(OTs) and intensive care units (ICUs) on higher floors.

"In case a fire breaks out, the elevators are shut down. If OTs and ICUs are on higher floors, then evacuating patients will be an uphill and risky business for any agency. To ensure safety of patients, the department is of the opinion that the OT and ICU be on the lower floors," said Suresh Shetty, public health minister. "If needed, existing norms would be changed to meet the requirement," Shetty added. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mumbai slum makeover finally comes

THE Dharavi slum, a dense sprawl of ramshackle shanties and sweatshops in the heart of Mumbai, presents a stark contrast with the better-off bits of India's richest city and its growing number of swanky business centres and luxury residences.

Asia's biggest slum, made famous by the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, is a bustling town in itself where more than one million people live and work to generate annual turnover of about $1 billion. Read more

Source : main.omanobserver.om

Homestays to face regulations in Madikeri

Madikeri : This hill paradise, which pioneered the concept of homestay, is going to regulate them. Ten years after homestay became a part of Madikeri’s tourism circuit, the local civic body is looking at it as a source of income.

Starting from next financial year, the Madikeri City Municipal Council (MCMC) will charge an annual fee of `2,000 to each individual who runs such a facility. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Home ministry to have limited say in investments

New Delhi : To whittle the veto power wielded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over investment proposals, the government will frame rules and guidelines and rewrite several laws in the next two months.

Top government sources confirmed that a subjective, anecdotal, case-by-case approach to a raft of investments that were stuck seeking mandatory ‘security clearance’ will be revisited. The process began with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board nixing the home ministry’s security concerns about a proposal by Verizon Communications — a telecom company headquartered in the US. The ministry had reservations about Verizon being allowed to set up shop in India, as the company shared data with US’ law enforcing agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its India arm might as well be required to do so. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Andhra Pradesh seeks a stringent real estate Act

The municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD ) department has urged the Centre to make the proposed Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2011 stringent by extending it to even small real estate ventures and development projects that come up in 500 square (sq) metres with a view to protecting gullible citizens from being cheated.

The draft bill, prepared by the Union ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (Housing section ), has been sent to state governments, inviting suggestions and objections . The state governments have to make necessary arrangements and put in place a mechanism once the bill is passed by Parliament. The bill is likely to be placed before the House in the budget session. Read more

Source : exclventures.com

Realtors demand incentives to go eco-friendly

KOLKATA: Talk of the need to go green and stakeholders see red.

On Monday, the city's builder community, civic officials and bureaucrats wasted a golden opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and adopt a sustainable growth model. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Every building proposal to pass civic chief muster

Mumbai : Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar has issued a circular stating that all scrutinised residential and commercial proposals should be forwarded to him by the civic building proposal department. But developers claim this procedure will only delay city development.

According to senior civic officials, the building proposal department should scrutinise the plan as per the newly amended developmental control (DC) rule. The proposal should have full permissible floor space index (FSI), including transfer of development right (TDR) utilisation and additional FSI. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Rail-port public-private links hit down signals

Financing, loan rates & road connectivity issues come to fore railways mull changes in rules to promote investor interest

New Delhi : Indian Railways’ initiative to ease infrastructure bottlenecks by connecting inland cargo lines and ports through public-private-partnership (PPP) projects has run into rough weather for many operators.

Companies were set up as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to implement the projects after the policy came up in early 2000. But firms that overestimated traffic projections are now facing difficult times. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Contractors still not paid,projects unfinished : CAG

NEW DELHI : The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report related to Commonwealth Games 2010 says over Rs 623.17 crore has not been paid to contractors till date and also points to unfinished projects.

The CAG report on Commonwealth Games 2010 tabled in the House on Friday highlighted deficiencies in execution of several projects and grant of approvals by Government at different stages was the reason of increased costs and delays of the projects. Read more

Source : dailypioneer.com

Residents move HC against Panchkula school

CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday issued notices to Panchkula-based Ajay Memorial Public School and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) on a petition seeking directions to restrain school management from running a primary school at the site allotted to it for a nursery school.

The notice has been issued by a division bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi while hearing a review petition filed by some Sector 7 residents. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Is Mumbai Building Enough?

According to the 2011 census, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has over 23.5 million people. To house this population on the ground floor, assuming a household size of 4 and dwelling units of 900 sq ft per family which are laid wall to wall, we would need 121,384 acres of contiguous land. If all these houses are built facing the street (for access), providing a frontage of 20 ft to each unit, the total length of the street would be 35,606 kilometres.

Being the commercial capital, the city not only attracts migrants from all parts of India but also has a high floating population which commutes to the city for work everyday. This high density calls for developments to be vertically stacked by design, with multiple functions layered one over the other. Nevertheless, the proposal for increasing the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the city (which would enable more construction over the same land area) has always met with stiff resistance on practical, sustainable and ethical grounds. Read more

Source : constructionweekonline.in

Lessons from American schools

Example worth emulating

American schools offer a positive and safe environment for kids. The curriculum and level of learning in schools are constantly monitored by government bodies too. We could learn a few lessons from their system

Most American kids, even the rich, attend government schools in the United States. Education up to the 12th grade is free of cost. The medium of instruction is invariably English. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

DUAC plans simpler building rules for Delhi

The rules will be cut to one-third or so of their current level

New Delhi: The Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC), the body responsible for developing and maintaining the aesthetics of the city’s landscape, has appointed a committee of experts to simplify and reduce the number of rules governing buildings in the Capital with the aim of setting up a single-window clearance mechanism.

The rules will be cut to one-third or so of their current level, DUAC chairman Raj Rewal said on Wednesday. Read more

Source : livemint.com

Mumbai Real Estate Development Not Keeping Pace with Population Growth

According to the 2011 census, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has over 23.5 million people. To house this population on the ground floor, assuming a household size of 4 and dwelling units of 900 sq ft per family which are laid wall to wall, we would need 121,384 acres of contiguous land. If all these houses are built facing the street (for access), providing a frontage of 20 ft to each unit, the total length of the street would be 35,606 kilometers.

Himadri Mayank, Manager of Research for Jones Lang LaSalle India tells World Property Channel that because Mumbai is the commercial capital, the city not only attracts migrants from all parts of India but also has a high floating population which commutes to the city for work everyday. This high density calls for developments to be vertically stacked by design, with multiple functions layered one over the other. Nevertheless, the proposal for increasing the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the city (which would enable more construction over the same land area) has always met with stiff resistance on practical, sustainable and ethical grounds. Read more

Source : worldpropertychannel.com

E-commerce poised for a leap in 2012

After the social media revolution, is e-commerce the next big thing in India? Recent reports indicate so. Online retailers have registered an average 18 per cent growth this year, but are they prepared to handle the influx of online shoppers? The year 2012 may come as a year of surprises to cynics of the industry who believe that online shopping cannot become an Indian reality. The argument that is often given is that buying behaviour of Indian consumers is non-virtual.

The first report that showed data contrary to this argument was the Internet data released by IMRB and IAMAI. The report claimed that the number of Internet users has touched the 100-million mark and is likely to grow exponentially. The number of active Internet users has reached inflection point. But has this growth also translated into growth of online shoppers? Latest figures say so. A recent pan-India report released by comScore Inc reveals that online shopping in India has touched a growth rate of 18 per cent and is only likely to grow further. The report found that nearly 60 per cent of netizens in India visited a retail site in November 2011, with the number of online shoppers increasing by 18 per cent in the past year. Read more

Source : exchange4media.com

Maharashtra lays down new norms for refuge areas

MUMBAI: Refuge areas in a building where people can take shelter in case of a fire are often misused by developers, who surreptitiously convert them into habitable areas. Many builders are known to sell these areas to buyers, who then illegally utilize them as part of their apartments.

Now a new set of guidelines, which form part of the modified development control rules notified by the state government on Friday, lay down stringent provisions for fire-fighting and curb misuse of these areas by developers. The notification was issued by the state urban development department after chief minister Prithivraj Chavan approved civic chief Subodh Kumar's proposal to streamline building approvals system and prevent builders from manipulating and misusing certain portions of their towers. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Old clause intact in new laws, realtors in Mumbai to protest

Mumbai : The city’s dominant real estate associations are set to lodge their protest against the clause in the new set of building laws that still allows the municipal commissioner to continue wielding discretionary powers over the building approval process.

The stated purpose of the amendment to the Development Control Rules (DCR), an exercise that had derailed most construction projects last year, was to eliminate discretionary powers that have vested with subsequent municipal commissioners with regard to granting certain concessions to building projects. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

UP Govt invites objections on quota rules in wards

LUCKNOW: The State government has invited objections on implementation of reservation rules in wards of municipal corporation, nagar palika parishad and nagar panchayats in wake of the local bodies' election slated to be held in the coming months. Orders to this effect were issued here on Saturday. 

A release quoting principal secretary, urban development, DS Mishra, said that copies of the draft would be available with the office of district magistrates. It stated that DMs have been directed to widely publicise the availability of the said draft so that people can register their objections. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Security permit for port projects at odds with rules

Model RFQ requires only bidders with 15% or more foreign holding to seek a clearance from the govt agencies

The shipping ministry’s insistence on security clearances for bidders of port contracts is in variance with the government’s policy on such public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

The model request for qualification (RFQ) document finalized by the government in 2007 requires only those bidding groups with a foreign holding of 15% or more or those that are fully controlled by foreign entities to seek a security clearance from government agencies including the home ministry. Read more

Source : .livemint.com

HC clips architecture council’s wings, stops its masters courses

New Delhi: In a significant order affecting a large number of aspirants for masters degree in architecture, the Delhi high court on Thursday quashed the 'minimum standard of education rules' laid down by the Council of Architecture for three prestigious courses in the stream of town planning. The council, which affiliates hundreds of universities across the country, has also been refrained from making rules for masters courses as it had “no jurisdiction”. They have been asked to stick to diploma and graduate courses.

The court said only the All India Council for Technical Education was empowered to lay down guidelines for master courses. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

RTC buses show more ad than rear mirror

HYDERABAD: With most city buses carrying full length ads on their rear windows, safety and rules have gone for a toss. As the state gears up to honour its most responsible public transport drivers as part of the ongoing Road Safety Week, it would do well not to ignore the RTC’s callousness in handing out contracts for ad space on city buses overlooking certain provisions in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (CMVR).

As per sub-rule (2) of Rule 100 of the CMVR, ‘The glass of the windscreen and rear window of every motor vehicle has to be such and be maintained in such a condition that the visual transmission of light is not less than 70 per cent’. But a majority of RTC operated buses which permit ads on them, have been found to be flouting these norms. More than 50 per cent space of the rear window in most cases is covered with flex ads, while in some cases a blanket of flex covers the entire rear mirror; in the process blocking vital visual sight for the driver and also passengers standing in the rear. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Maharashtra may ask realtors to reserve 20% area for low-cost housing

The rule would only be applicable for housing properties and projects, being developed in cities and towns managed by municipal corporation and councils.

The Maharashtra Government is planning to make it compulsory for real estate companies to reserve 20 per cent of the area in a plot of more than 2,000 sq. metres for low cost housing. The rule will also come into play while developing large housing colonies.

However, the rule would only be applicable for housing properties and projects, being developed in cities and towns managed by municipal corporation and councils. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Be socially active, book violators through FB

BANGALORE: Which is the Government department that is often criticised for taking bribes by the public in the city but is now showing over 26,000 likes on its social networking site? Answer: Bangalore Traffic Police. 

The Ministry of Urban Development recently conferred the ‘Award of Excellence’ on Bangalore Traffic Police. It seems to have galvanised the force to connect with the public through social networking sites. The Facebook page for Bangalore Traffic Police has 26,604 likes and many more followers, who finally have a chance to speak to the police force directly. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

‘Kalmadi flouted rules during Youth CWG’

NAGPUR: There's more dirt on Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi who is cooling his heels in Tihar jail after a scam was unearthed in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said that rules and regulations were blatantly flouted even during the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Pune in 2008.

In a report, which was tabled before the state legislative assembly on Friday - the final day of the winter session, CAG said that awarding contracts for construction and refurbishment of the sports complex and procurement of electronic, sports, and other equipment had many instances of malpractice. The Shiv Sena has demanded an enquiry into the matter. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bengal’s class bias: don’t blame RTE

Calcutta : The Right to Education (RTE) Act does not bar any child from outside the “neighbourhood” to participate in the lottery system for admission to schools — contrary to what the Bengal government has been claiming.

The enforcement of such a radius rule yesterday had triggered a near-riot in a Malda school that cited a government directive and disallowed applicants who reside beyond 1km from participating in a draw. Read more

 

 

 

Source : telegraphindia.com

Riverfront project: Urban planners' views to be taken

AHMEDABAD: While the process of framing development control regulations (DCR) for the ambitious Sabarmati riverfront is in progress, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation (SRFDCL) has decided that once the new proposed regulations are in place, it will approach leading urban planners of the city for their suggestions.

The corporation plans to incorporate their views before sending the proposal to the state urban development department for approval. Once given a go-ahead, the proposed regulations will be placed in public domain for suggestions and objections. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Panel for cap on cell tower radiation

NEW DELHI: Electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers must be brought down to one-tenth of existing levels, an inter-ministerial committee has said, in the run-up to framing the country's first guidelines in the matter.

Electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers must be brought down to one-tenth of existing levels, an inter-ministerial committee has said.

India has around 4 lakh mobile towers and with 3G mobile telephony, an additional 1 lakh towers will be needed, according to Trai. The mobile base stations mounted on these towers emit radiation, feared to pose health hazards. The panel has urged continuous online monitoring and display of emissions and a national database of the stations. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Norms eased for building plans in Gurgaon

Gurgaon : Getting approval for your building plans has become easier as the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), Haryana has introduced a self-certification system. Unlike earlier process under which an applicant had to approach the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), now building plans can be certified by any architect listed in Huda's panel.  

The new rule which has been effective from December 1 will simplify the process of getting approval of building plans in residential and industrial areas across the state, the the Department of Town and Country Planning said on Sunday. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com